Gretna’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Gretna. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Gretna started shortly after the Burlington Railroad built a short line between Omaha and Ashland in the summer of 1886. Advent of the village of Gretna on this new laid rail line was the cue for the exit of the nearby trading post of Forest City, which had existed since 1856. In its day, Forest City, located 2.5 miles southwest of where Gretna now stands, was a flourishing and busy place, but it was doomed by the railroad which passed it by. The only markers that exist today to show the site of old Forest City is the cemetery (Holy Sepulchre) which is located a little to the east of what was the center of activity in the settlement and the 1886 homestead originally owned by the Schnack Family and located on Schnack Acres at 234th St. Names that were prominent in the beginnings of Forest City were the families of Adolph Schnack, William Langdon, John Thomas and John Conner.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Gretna’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gretna’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewMeat Market, c. 1895: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Gretna
See all 2 →
Gretna, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Gretna is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Gretna has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Springfield Community Hall in Springfield, 4.5 miles away.
Gretna and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Meat Market (c. 1895) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (4) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.